Government Continues Second Phase of Anti-Encroachment Drive with Bulldozers on Settlements

Kathmandu. The government is continuing the second phase of bulldozing settlements of squatters and those living near riverbanks. This process is also continuing on Saturday. The government has been bulldozing settlements of squatters and those living near riverbanks with a heavy police presence since the morning. On Saturday morning, bulldozers were first used in the Swayambhu area. Subsequently, bulldozers are being used on encroached settlements in the Balaju and Machhapokhari areas. Similarly, the government has also bulldozed settlements along the Dhobi Khola riverbank in Anamnagar. On Friday alone, the government bulldozed squatter settlements in Teku, Shankhamul, Balkhu, and Banshighat areas of Kathmandu. In Balkhu on Friday, 401 (houses, huts, and shacks), 193 in Banshighat, and 150 concrete houses in Shankhamul were demolished. The Prime Minister's Secretariat stated that 1,414 people came into contact with the government after the bulldozing of settlements. Earlier, in the first phase, the government had removed squatter settlements in areas including Thapathali, Gairigaun, and Manohara. The government is currently bulldozing settlements in the name of managing squatters. However, there is criticism that the government is indiscriminately bulldozing settlements without identifying squatters. Not only criticism, but other people living in houses near the river are also experiencing fear. With the possibility of demolishing any house on the riverbank without identifying squatters, other citizens have also started to become fearful. Fearing that their houses might be demolished in the crowd, people living in houses on the riverbank have started staying in their homes by pasting land ownership certificates. On Friday, citizens in the Shankhamul area pasted land ownership certificates on their houses, and on Saturday, after bulldozers ran in the Dhobi Khola Rudramati Temple area, residents here also pasted their land ownership certificates on the walls of their houses.